Wednesday, January 19, 2011

There's a new podcast up called No Time to Kill. It insults Wisdom publications! I'm sorry about that, Josh. It comes off less funny and seems more truly angry than it was intended to. I wasn't angry. But you guys should have put the book out. It's true.

And speaking of wasting time, lately I've been wasting a lot of time doing my own version of Guitar Hero. I've discovered that if you go on YouTube and type in the name of some song you like plus the words "bass cover," you will find tons of guys who have taped themselves in their bedrooms playing that song on the bass. By watching these, one can learn the bass lines of these songs!

So far I have learned the following songs by KISS: Christine Sixteen, Love Gun, She, Strutter, Deuce, Detroit Rock City, Black Diamond, Rock and Roll All Night and Sure Know Something. Plus Lady Madonna by the Beatles, Substitute by the Who, Beat It by Michael Jackson and most of Money by Pink Floyd. Phew!

Zero Defex is playing a gig on February 9th at the Matinee in Akron, Ohio. Every time we have a gig, which lately has been about once a year, I get serious about the bass again and start practicing like crazy. It's not that the Zero Defex bass parts are that tough, except for the one from By The Day. It's just that I feel like I ought be really good before I get out on stage in front of people.

And speaking of really good, here's one thing I'm not really good at. I've been trying to catch up with some of the emails people send. I'm just getting to ones from October. I'm sorry I'm so lousy at this! But it just takes up so much time. I can't give a half-assed answer. If you receive a one-liner from me, you can trust that it's probably the distillation of a few paragraphs. Ugh.

Still the #1 most frequently asked question is, "I live in Bumfuck, Egypt, how can I find a Zen teacher?"

I wish I knew. I think one thing is that you probably don't need a teacher that urgently. Secondly, you probably don't need me to be your teacher as much as you think you do (often writers of this question seem to imply they want me to teach them). You can relax about it a little. Just do your home practice by yourself for a while and see if anyone groovy turns up in your life.

A number of people want me to be their long-distance on-line teacher. But I'm still working in emails I received three months ago! I'm really not reliable as anyone's on-line Zen teacher.

I have a problem with the on-line Zen teachers I've seen. Some of the on-line forums I've checked out are packed with dubious "Masters" spouting dogma that sounds like the worst forms of authoritarian religion. But, I'll admit I have not checked out this world very thoroughly because I'd rather be writing a book or learning new bass parts.

I know a bunch of commenters are gonna think I'm taking digs at someone specific (if you must know, the one that grinds me most is e-Sangha). But really, the on-line option is one that lots of people who send this question seem to want me to endorse. I'm trying to say why I still have serious reservations about it. I can't do that without saying why I still have serious reservations about it.

A couple people have recommended I go into on-line teaching and charge for Skype chats and suchlike with students. A guy I know argued very rationally that I would not be charging for the dharma but for my time. People who go to in-the-flesh teachers usually donate to their centers, so why shouldn't people who get Skype chat time with a well-known teacher contribute some dana? But I just don't know. It feels weird.

Plus I feel like it's not the proper way to meet a teacher. One of the other problems I have with on-line Zen is the celebrity aspect. Instead of going to the Zen teacher down the street, you can pick out a more famous guy on line. I know for certain this happens because I've watched it happen. It's not all shut-ins and people in the boondocks who inhabit the on-line sanghas. It's often people who live right near a Zen center but like the on-line guy better.

Too much choice and too much convenience in this kind of thing just seems somehow off to me.

I'm not saying I'll never do it. Especially since hardly anyone seems to be hitting my little donation button anymore. But I am still not convinced it can be done in a way that is truly ethical.

147 comments:

hey i wrote my email around october, maybe there's still hope you will reply and indulge me my absurd questions about your opinion on the Tao Te Ching! but i jest, no one is passing judgement that you can't reply to everyone individually, thanks for updating your blog so frequently these past coupla months, looking forward to fundamental wisdom. - Patrick NZ

I don't like the on-line zen guy better. Seems to me the on-line stuff is still 'experimental' if you will.I really don't know what to think of it. Am old school and prefer analog watches, and a teacher I can meet in person.Even if that teacher doesn't respond to e-mails.On line folks bristle when others state a preference for the old way. They vehemently argue that on line is the same.I don't know, because I haven't tried it and am not interested in trying it. Maybe someday I will. You never know. It is an interesting idea (on line zen center). As an experiment, I think it is too early to tell much of anything.

Glad you are immersing yourself in music. Are you writing any songs? Would you consider an on line sing-along sangha where folks can get on skype and jam with you?

I know a bunch of commenters are gonna think I'm taking digs at someone specific (if you must know, the one that grinds me most is e-Sangha).

What a bunch of bullshit! Of course we know who you're taking digs at. And IMHO, rightly so! But please don't play naive and act as if you didn't know that e-Sangha has been offline for several years now.

I went to Mapquest.com and searched for Bumfuck, Egypt and it displayed Quality Fuel Oil and Trucking, 359 S. 7th Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10550. So now I know that I live about 64 miles from Bumfuck, Egypt. Thank you, Brad, and thank you, Mapquest.

at the moment you are the closest thing to a teacher I have. I'm stuck in tyler texass and there isn't an option for me here. I think a skype chat would be amazing. for now I just keep reading your books over and over and over :)

Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.

"at the moment you are the closest thing to a teacher I have. I'm stuck in tyler texass and there isn't an option for me here."

No offense, but you're almost certainly being lazy and hoping for some random online guy to "rescue" you. Dallas is all of 95 miles away, tops. If you take some initiative for yourself and get off your lazy, self-pitying ass, you'll find what you need close to home. Get over yourself and your big "problems" of being "stuck" in Tyler.

"To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to spend or waste, and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever." Bruce Lee

"Time means a lot to me because, you see, i, too, am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing and simplifying. If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of." Bruce Lee

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard

"Dost thou love life? Then waste not time; for time is the stuff that life is made of."Benjamin Franklin

"To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to spend or waste, and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever." Bruce Lee

"Time means a lot to me because, you see, i, too, am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing and simplifying. If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of." Bruce Lee

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard

"Dost thou love life? Then waste not time; for time is the stuff that life is made of."Benjamin Franklin

What Time Is It? May 21, 2010 Famed screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and theoretical physicist Brian Greene dissect time as we know it. What is the smallest unit of time, and what does it look like? For starters, you should stop looking at the clock, and start looking at the universe. http://www.nyas.org/WhatWeDo/SciencetheCity.aspx

____

Forty-First CaseJoju's "Man of Great Death"

Joju asked T'ou Tzu, "When a man of great death returns to life, how is it?"T'ou Tzu said, "Going by night is not permitted. You must arrive in daylight."

No offense, but you're almost certainly being lazy and hoping for some random online guy to "rescue" you. Dallas is all of 95 miles away, tops. If you take some initiative for yourself and get off your lazy, self-pitying ass, you'll find what you need close to home. Get over yourself and your big "problems" of being "stuck" in Tyler.

actually I do take offence. I am disabled (meaning I live on a mere $700 a month) with no personal transportation, so the 95 miles to Dallas is a bid deal. How would you suggest I get to Dallas, walk?

Bumfuck, Egypt might just be a perfect place for being present, Zen. It's beautiful there, and the culture and people are rich. The sand is hot, feels great between your toes. You can raise your face to the sky and feel the sun on your skin. Maybe we should go there? ;-)--just another fan, once, maybe still, from Bumfuck, as we all are

Seagal Rinpoche said... Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.

HOLY CRAP! The Seagull actually posted a quote that was relevant to the discussion! Given all the fortune-cookie random crap he's spammed here in the past, I think for now we're going to have to assume the relevance is coincidental.

The pali word usually translated as "lamp" or "light" in the Rinpoche's contribution is dIpa. The very same word can mean 'Island' - the Pali Text Society's Pali Dictionary has "terra firma, solid foundation, resting-place, shelter, refuge", and some folks think that's the correct reading.

I've gotta agree with Brad. If you need a teacher, the simple truth is that a good one is going to tell you things you don't want to hear. If they didn't shake up your ideas about what you need, you wouldn't need them. That's the problem, it's too easy to find someone online who's just going to tell you what you want to hear.

I spent too much time picking out a teacher from the several available in my area, and ended up settling for going to a practice center that wasn't my first choice because the schedule worked for me. In retrospect, that was probably the best thing that could have happened. Not because the teacher I ended up with was better than I had thought at first, but because I was immediately exposed to points of view that were significantly different from my own, and some of my mistaken ideas about Zen and about myself were corrected more quickly.

"actually I do take offence. I am disabled (meaning I live on a mere $700 a month) with no personal transportation, so the 95 miles to Dallas is a bid deal. How would you suggest I get to Dallas, walk?"

How about you stop reeling off reasons that you're such a special case and can't be bothered to actually act on your own behalf like a responsible adult and actually do something? You're a lazy fool and don't even see it.

I'm not here to spell everything out for you, but sitting online and citing your oh-so-bad personal misfortunes is pathetic. Lift a finger and do something for yourself, you lazy Zen wannabe.

I was immediately exposed to points of view that were significantly different from my own, and some of my mistaken ideas about Zen and about myself were corrected more quickly.

Yep. That's what happened to me.

Fortunately, I found a teacher very close to where I live AND he turned out to be jolly good too. He wasn't what I wanted, but he certainly was what I needed.

***********************************...Yeah, Brad. Some say hacked out of business, some say hacked and forced out of business by threats of a law suit (instigated by a certain Zen Master/lawyer with an online sangha...Read all about it).

@RobertI am somewhat disabled which means that most of the time I am more or less ok but sometimes I can't leave the house due to the pain in one of my legs.

Last summer I already had the train tickets for Warzawa/Poland where I wanted to join Brad's sesshin (about 400 miles from my place) but the night before bad luck strocke me and that was it.

So I can imagine what kind of effort going to Dallas might mean for you.

However, what might be worth to try is to check out the groups via the internet and then call those you like and ask them if there is someone whom they know and who lives close to you and might be able to pick you up. At one point in my life I lived about 150 miles from the next dojo but went there at least once per month. If at that time someone had asked me for picking him up I had not hesitated to drive another 50 miles for him.

"How about you stop reeling off reasons that you're such a special case and can't be bothered to actually act on your own behalf like a responsible adult and actually do something? You're a lazy fool and don't even see it."

That's very passive-aggressive. You wouldn't say that to my face or else you'd be missing a few teeth and possibly part of one ear shortly thereafter. Plus, that message wasn't directed to you. My exchange with that guy is none of your business. Finally, and most importantly, please don't detract from this lazy, conceited guy's journey toward something meaningful with your own ego-based interjections.

Once in a while I browse old HCZ posts. I just came across this (from July 18th last year):

"ROLL-CALL said...THE HCZ ANONYMOUS TROLLING SCENE

One guy gets off by assuming the identity of other posters and making off-color or deliberately ignorant comments.

Another guy loves to try and swing the discussion back to Jundo Cohen. He has even successfully conjured up the real Jundo here once or twice.

Another troll gets his kicks by reminding us that Brad has said some unkind things on this blog in the past. I guess his point is that Brad is a bad Buddhist.

Another troll likes to disparage Gudo's ideas. I think he thinks this really bothers Brad.

One guys likes to post You-tube vids relating to 911 conspiracies.

Another guy specializes in tormenting any woman who dares to post on HCZ.

One guy hates Brad for his butt-buddy comments. He must have taken a lot of shit in his life.

The list goes on and on. I know I'm forgetting a few. Some of these trolls might be the same person. It's possible they are all the same person. If so, the guy is highly dedicated and completely nutz."

anon#108,I don't think that anybody ever answered my question about "Mr. Angry". Does anybody know who I was referring to? Years ago he trolled this blog under his "real" blogger name (linked to his blog) and then he just disappeared. Or did he? *cue ominous music*

I did wonder whether Mr Angry was a particular bloke or a generic term, OVH...he was the one troll type Roll Call failed to mention. I've been following the blog for a few years but don't recall him, I'm afraid (girls don't troll...do they?).

Hi there 3.37pm,

Re jiblet (lower case - a diminutive of his father's initials, I gather): As I recall, apart from one vociferous complaint to Brad about banning anonymous comments (in fact it was a technical hitch) jiblet was always rather dull and well-behaved.

He still posts occasionally - on Mike Cross's Mining Ashvagosha's Gold blog, largely confining himself to discussions of Sanskrit minutiae and very occasionally on Zen Forum International, where he is out-gunned by much smarter Buddhists...or so they think. Ha Ha!

108 is jiblet. He talkin' bout him-own-self. And thats an old Alex Grey paintin' there on yer avatar, Osama VH. Grey's an old friend and collaborator w/ Ken Wilbur, the egg head in cahoots with the dread Genpo. We're all connected. Ain't life grand.

"I know a bunch of commenters are gonna think I'm taking digs at someone specific (if you must know, the one that grinds me most is e-Sangha).

What a bunch of bullshit! Of course we know who you're taking digs at. And IMHO, rightly so! But please don't play naive and act as if you didn't know that e-Sangha has been offline for several years now."

I also think Brad lies here !

A few posts before I mentioned, in my comment, about e-sanga being hacked. This comment was deleted.

I also think Brad lies here...I suspect Brad knew about e-sanga being down.

You're onto something, 5.10am. But it's not what it seems. Brad lies. You expose him. Thus are we all deflected from the far more sinister conspiracy going on here. I can't speak for fear of....I can't say.

I'd leave it if I were you. It doesn't stop at deleting (and re-instating) blog comments. Just play along. Please.

***********************************

Hi OVH,

Re Mr Angry's post from 2006: Coming from the man you speak of that's a pretty generous compliment being paid to Brad there. Seriously. IMO.

I'd be a little surprised if he were still posting here, anonymously; I've not read anything that's made me think so. But I could be wrong.

On Martin Luther King Day I saw Elvis shooting pool with JFK. Jim Morrison was, as usual, tending bar (showing anybody who pretended to care his 10 year AA medallion). Gram Parsons came in and flashed Lew Welch the Peace sign.

Personally, I wish Brad was and there was Metal. But that would be so weird.

I - dreamed - I - was - there - in - death - club - 27. oh - what - a - beautiful - sight.

Last night I dreamed I went to death club 27 heaven. And you know who greeted me at the gate? The ole lizard king himself, Jim Morrison. He said to me, he said "Merciless, the Big Boss of the band up here has asked me to kinda show you around. Now, over there are a few of your ole mates." Man, was I glad to see them, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan among other eternal 27 year olds..

Matsuoka Roshi is real. He published a book called The Kiyosaku (or possibly The Kyosaku). He was active in California in the 70s, maybe into the 80s. He has a few dharma heirs in the US. His story is somewhat similar to S. Suzuki and Maezumi in that he arrived at around the same time to try to establish some Zen in the US & left behind some centers and heirs. I am unaware of any particular scandals. I don't know much more than that.

And, by the way, you best believe I pay taxes. There might be some way I can avoid that (legally, I mean). But I'm not smart enough to figure it out.

As for eSangha.... sorry. No conspiracy. I really, honestly am not interested enough in the Zen scene to bother following such things. I swear to God. Bores me to tears.

As does the long, long article someone posted here. Lots of PR stuff in that. Lots & lots. Didn't bother to read it. Probably won't. I don't like infomercials much.

James Ford seems to know the skinny on the US Zen scene. He wrote a book called 'Zen Master Who?' all about the various zenny goings on in the US. Might be a good guy to ask about teachers. You can contact him through his blog:

That's a slippery slope Brad. Next thing you will be getting annoyed at people for not paying you enough respect and deleting their comments on principal. The major difference between you and Jundo was your unwillingness to take yourself too seriously. But now you seem very willing. This is a bad portend. I don't know what PR piece you are referencing because I probably read a bit and skipped the rest of it as you should have. You censoring comments? That's fucked up.

As you missed it...It weren't so much a 'comment'. It was a re-posting, without any comment at all, in four (I think) sections, of an entire lengthy piece Jundo had written on his own site about Treeleaf and the virtual Sangha thing, called THE WORLD IS VIRTUAL, THIS SANGHA IS REAL.

All the poster had to do was post a link - which s/he eventually did (not a direct link, sadly). I note that Brad's left the link up.

I do understand your concerns, but I don't think we need worry. It's clear that Brad tolerates all sorts of bollocks in this comment section. I don't think deleting yards and yards of one very long article not originally intended for the comment section of someone else's blog is an indicator of a "slippery slope". Especially taking into consideration the unpleasantness that's been caused by this particular kind of thing in the recent past. Not IMO.

It was either Jundo using this forum to put his point of view (meh...dunno), OR it was a troll hoping to stir the shit (not unlikely), OR it was a well meaning anon who thought the article relevant to the discussion (perhaps). The article was relevant I guess - but better, surely to just give the link, with or without comment.

In your book 'Sit Down...", you seem to emphasize the importance of finding a teacher (ch. 5, Zazen by Alone). Here you say don't worry about it. Do these two ideas contradict each other, or is there something I'm not seeing (in which case my 'not seeing' list is that much longer. Thanks.

That article is a transparent attempt to sway people and convince them that this stupid 'sangha' is a good idea. Jundo goes from, on the one hand, describing it as a deal for people who don't have easy access to a brick and mortar sangha to, in the article, elevating his stupid forum and YouTube video combo thing to the level of real-deal sangha. I don't think he's fooling anyone; if you want to believe in what he's selling then of course you're not going to see things as I've just described them.

Oh well. In the end, I really, really want for all of us to be truly happy and live with ease. Maybe we're all getting there.

"Blogger Greg said..."Brad, In your book 'Sit Down...", you seem to emphasize the importance of finding a teacher (ch. 5, Zazen by Alone)."

This is not quite as inconsistent as it might seem.

First, if a teacher (or teachers) are available, shop around for a good one. POSTURE is nontrivial in Zazen. After 35 years, my wife will still occasionally say "Straighten your back!"

And sometimes people think that they should lift their shoulders - but that doesn't help restore the natural "S" in an upright (e.g. straight) back. It only adds pain in another dimension.

So the benefit of a teacher is getting the posture right. If you nail the posture, you can sit in comfort for thirty or even fifty minutes.

The second reason you might want a teacher (guide) is that s/he can suggest a sequence of books to read - over the years - that will not baffle the mind with BULLSHIT.

I usually suggest Zen at Work and Beginner's Mind - in that order. There are two dozen books worth reading - but not in the same year!

Brad's Trilogy + 1 (Hardcore, Sit, Zen) [and Sex] are fairly good for GenX/Y. I like them a lot (4 + stars) but I have been around the block. And I have watched Brad adjust to some difficult life changes.